The Best and the Worst of the Week

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Alex Chilton
are two local musicians who recently received The Recording Academy's "Memphis Heroes Awards." Brown was cited as being a "living monument to the melting pot of American music," while The Recording Academy said Chilton's band, Big Star, "took some of the most compelling elements of the British Invasion era and wed them to the soul-influenced Memphis Sound" with inspired results.

The Xavier University Preparatory High School Marching Band
recently won a first-place honor at the prestigious All-American Music Festival in Orlando, Fla. The 64-member all-girl band was cited by judges for displaying excellence through its strong sound, polished uniforms, and straight lines. The judges were also impressed by the leadership and marching abilities of senior Joy Collins, who won an outstanding drum-major award.

The Marc Morial administration
is under fire by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, whose audit says ex-city officials misspent $7.7 million of a federal loan for the now-defunct Jazzland Theme Park. The city may be forced to repay the money, says HUD, which accuses former officials of making ineligible and undocumented expenditures, maintaining inadequate controls and management of Jazzland, and possibly engaging in contractual conflicts of interest.

Samuel J. Green Middle School administrators
have been asked to explain a decision to distribute a printed prayer last week to students taking the state LEAP test and the national Iowa Test. The prayer, which identified both standardized tests as "enemies," was handed out with exam booklets and was rife with errors in grammar and punctuation. Green is among 14 Orleans Parish schools facing state takeover if its LEAP scores don't improve.